Fic for dimgwrthien714
Title: Gifts
Author: A friend ^_^
Giftee: dimgwrthien714
Characters: Mac Taylor & Sheldon Hawkes, mentions of other characters
Spoilers: Set pre-series, around Dec. 2000
Rating: PG
Prompt: Mac, Hawkes, and Claire (or just Mac and Hawkes if it's easier on you!) with strange Christmas gifts, leftover Halloween candy, and some fun. Any rating is good, and smut is ALWAYS a friend! ;)
Author's Notes: I'm making assumptions as to when Danny, Aiden and Flack joined the team.
---
Mac was having a rough day. He was almost sure it was going to turn into a rough week, and with Christmas around the corner, it hit at the worst possible time, in his opinion.
He had one of his incredibly rare fights with Claire that morning. It was a stupid fight, starting with why she had a stash of Halloween candy that she wasn't sharing. It ended up evolving into a fight about keeping secrets and spending money without telling each other and...
He sighed. No, this wasn't going to be one of those easy days at all, because to top it off, the first case that hit his desk was a child murder. Two six year olds...twins...black hair, blue eyes, staring with dead eyes at the snow piled up in Central Park.
There was no way to know who they were at the moment and the waiting for a missing child report was probably going to be their only key. Stella had been on the case but he'd transferred her off when he found her muttering in Greek and English. He caught enough of the English to know she'd be like a powder keg on the case, so he transferred one of the newer CSIs, Danny Messer, onto it.
Right now, he was handling the evidence, what little there was, while Mac was waiting for the call from Dr. Hawkes about the autopsies.
Just how he wanted to spend the week before Christmas, on a case that made him sick and a fight with his wife that could last anywhere from a day to a week. Since fights between them were so rare...
His thoughts were jarred by the sound of his pager going off. He looked down at the number and recognized the extension of the morgue. He pushed away from his desk, stood up, and prepared himself for the worst.
---
"Hypothermia. No signs of abuse of sexual assault. Mac, this isn't murder. It's an accident."
Mac nodded. It may have been an accident, but there were still parents to inform at some point, and he wasn't looking forward to the task.
Hawkes must have caught the look on his face because he cleared his throat to get Mac's attention. "Since it's not a homicide, I'll inform the family. I just need to know who they are."
Mac nodded. "We'll try and find them as soon as we can, Sheldon."
"Good. These girls...they deserve..."
They deserved anything but that," Mac said gruffly. Hawkes said nothing and simply looked at one of the twins, the one on the autopsy table in front of him. Mac took that as his cue to leave the morgue, and he headed to the locker room to take a shower.
It was either that or punch a wall, and he knew the wall wasn't going to help him think his way through what to do next. He tended to follow his head more than his heart, but right now his heart was telling him to pull out all the stops to find those little girls parents.
And his head was inclined to agree.
---
Four days later they found the parents. Danny was grim faced as he stood by Hawkes, explaining what had happened. Mac had hope for the man; he'd kept his temper in check the entire time.
He hadn't been sure Hawkes or Danny had seen him until he returned to his desk a few hours later. There was a box and a note. He looked at the box first, with it's Christmas wrapping paper. It was a little on the big side, something almost the size of a toaster, or maybe a toaster oven. He'd never gotten a present that big from the people at the labs before.
There was a note on top written in what he recognized as Stella' loopy handwriting that said "Open Me." If she spent a lot of money on whatever gift was in there, he was going to have a talk with him, he thought as his eyes drifted to the warm scarf wrapped up in his desk; Claire had assured him it was pretty, it would keep her neck warm, and Stell, being the fashion plate she was, would love it.
The fact that it hadn't costtoo much had made it a reasonable gift for his partner.
But his thoughts soon drifted back to the box. She must have spent a lot of money, he thought once again as he picked up his letter opener and opened the wrapping paper carefully; he had never been the type to rip into a present. When the paper was off, he saw it was a plain brown box. Curious, he opened it up and shook it.
There were a few things inside, because they made noise when they bounced into each other. Now he really wanted to get the box open...
He slid the letter opener though the taped box lid and opened it, then pulled back the flaps. His lips curved up into a smile as he saw the individually wrapped presents, each with a tag hat all said "To Mac" but had a different name after "From." Stella, Hawkes, Chad, Jane, Danny and even the other detectives new to the labs, Aiden and Flack.
He pulled each gift out and carefully unwrapped then, letting the smile stay and even letting out an occasional laugh at some of the things they got for him and the notes tucked inside the wrapping paper of each gift. Danny's simply said this was all Stella's idea. Aiden's said picking out his gift and making sure it was fun was the hardest thing she'd had to do. Stella's simply said gotcha.
And the presents... A stress ball with a paisley design, a horribly clashing tie (surprisingly, from Stella and not from Flack), a book on horrible bosses, a small chemistry set, a box of cinnamon red hots and a CD of jazz standards, among other things.
It was that last gift that surprised him. Hawkes' gift was the only one he was sure was not meant as a gag gift. He looked at the CD and grinned even more. Ella Fitzgerald was the first artist and he moved to the small CD player in his office, popping the CD in.
Soon the music enveloped him and it took him a moment to notice that Hawkes was standing in the doorway. "I got asked to give the non gag gift, he said, nodding to the presents on Mac's desk. "I asked your wife...I hope that was okay."
"That was fine," he said. "I'm surprised she didn't tell you to get me a lump of coal," he said, thinking about how strained breakfast had been that morning.
"Well, she suggested I tape it onto the wrapping paper, but by the end of the conversation I had convinced her otherwise."
"How?" Mac asked.
"I told her about the case." Mac nodded. "When I talked to her this morning, she seemed to be in a pensive mood."
"We had a fight," Mac said simply.
"Well, I don't think she's angry with you anymore. She was the one who told me that you liked jazz." Mac hadn't told anyone in the labs about playing in the jazz group, and he hoped Claire hadn't said anything. He let out a tiny sigh of relief when Hawkes grinned slightly and said, "Maybe one time you can drop by this jazz club I go to in Queens. I think you'd like it. Claire, too."
"You seem to have made a friend in my wife," Mac said wryly, though he smiled.
"She's a good woman." He nodded towards the phone. "I say call her and patch up the fight. I think you might be surprised."
Mac looked at him. "I take it she thinks I was in a bad mood because of the case."
"I didn't lie to her. I just didn't tell her the whole truth."
"Isn't that unethical?"
"Possibly, but she's not a patient, so I think I can get away with it." Hawkes grin got bigger. "You should probably track down Stella wearing that tie she gave you. She asked Flack where he got his ties. I know he thinks she insulted him but he told her anyway. Maybe she can tell you the whole story. It's kind of funny."
"I think I will. After I make a phone call."
Hawkes nodded. "Glad you liked the gift." He didn't wait for Mac to answer before he walked away, heading towards the elevator that would take him down to the morgue. Mac watched him go before turning to the phone and picking up the receiver. He punched in the familiar number to Claire's office and waited for her to pick up.
Maybe this week wouldn't turn out so bad after all...
Author: A friend ^_^
Giftee: dimgwrthien714
Characters: Mac Taylor & Sheldon Hawkes, mentions of other characters
Spoilers: Set pre-series, around Dec. 2000
Rating: PG
Prompt: Mac, Hawkes, and Claire (or just Mac and Hawkes if it's easier on you!) with strange Christmas gifts, leftover Halloween candy, and some fun. Any rating is good, and smut is ALWAYS a friend! ;)
Author's Notes: I'm making assumptions as to when Danny, Aiden and Flack joined the team.
---
Mac was having a rough day. He was almost sure it was going to turn into a rough week, and with Christmas around the corner, it hit at the worst possible time, in his opinion.
He had one of his incredibly rare fights with Claire that morning. It was a stupid fight, starting with why she had a stash of Halloween candy that she wasn't sharing. It ended up evolving into a fight about keeping secrets and spending money without telling each other and...
He sighed. No, this wasn't going to be one of those easy days at all, because to top it off, the first case that hit his desk was a child murder. Two six year olds...twins...black hair, blue eyes, staring with dead eyes at the snow piled up in Central Park.
There was no way to know who they were at the moment and the waiting for a missing child report was probably going to be their only key. Stella had been on the case but he'd transferred her off when he found her muttering in Greek and English. He caught enough of the English to know she'd be like a powder keg on the case, so he transferred one of the newer CSIs, Danny Messer, onto it.
Right now, he was handling the evidence, what little there was, while Mac was waiting for the call from Dr. Hawkes about the autopsies.
Just how he wanted to spend the week before Christmas, on a case that made him sick and a fight with his wife that could last anywhere from a day to a week. Since fights between them were so rare...
His thoughts were jarred by the sound of his pager going off. He looked down at the number and recognized the extension of the morgue. He pushed away from his desk, stood up, and prepared himself for the worst.
---
"Hypothermia. No signs of abuse of sexual assault. Mac, this isn't murder. It's an accident."
Mac nodded. It may have been an accident, but there were still parents to inform at some point, and he wasn't looking forward to the task.
Hawkes must have caught the look on his face because he cleared his throat to get Mac's attention. "Since it's not a homicide, I'll inform the family. I just need to know who they are."
Mac nodded. "We'll try and find them as soon as we can, Sheldon."
"Good. These girls...they deserve..."
They deserved anything but that," Mac said gruffly. Hawkes said nothing and simply looked at one of the twins, the one on the autopsy table in front of him. Mac took that as his cue to leave the morgue, and he headed to the locker room to take a shower.
It was either that or punch a wall, and he knew the wall wasn't going to help him think his way through what to do next. He tended to follow his head more than his heart, but right now his heart was telling him to pull out all the stops to find those little girls parents.
And his head was inclined to agree.
---
Four days later they found the parents. Danny was grim faced as he stood by Hawkes, explaining what had happened. Mac had hope for the man; he'd kept his temper in check the entire time.
He hadn't been sure Hawkes or Danny had seen him until he returned to his desk a few hours later. There was a box and a note. He looked at the box first, with it's Christmas wrapping paper. It was a little on the big side, something almost the size of a toaster, or maybe a toaster oven. He'd never gotten a present that big from the people at the labs before.
There was a note on top written in what he recognized as Stella' loopy handwriting that said "Open Me." If she spent a lot of money on whatever gift was in there, he was going to have a talk with him, he thought as his eyes drifted to the warm scarf wrapped up in his desk; Claire had assured him it was pretty, it would keep her neck warm, and Stell, being the fashion plate she was, would love it.
The fact that it hadn't costtoo much had made it a reasonable gift for his partner.
But his thoughts soon drifted back to the box. She must have spent a lot of money, he thought once again as he picked up his letter opener and opened the wrapping paper carefully; he had never been the type to rip into a present. When the paper was off, he saw it was a plain brown box. Curious, he opened it up and shook it.
There were a few things inside, because they made noise when they bounced into each other. Now he really wanted to get the box open...
He slid the letter opener though the taped box lid and opened it, then pulled back the flaps. His lips curved up into a smile as he saw the individually wrapped presents, each with a tag hat all said "To Mac" but had a different name after "From." Stella, Hawkes, Chad, Jane, Danny and even the other detectives new to the labs, Aiden and Flack.
He pulled each gift out and carefully unwrapped then, letting the smile stay and even letting out an occasional laugh at some of the things they got for him and the notes tucked inside the wrapping paper of each gift. Danny's simply said this was all Stella's idea. Aiden's said picking out his gift and making sure it was fun was the hardest thing she'd had to do. Stella's simply said gotcha.
And the presents... A stress ball with a paisley design, a horribly clashing tie (surprisingly, from Stella and not from Flack), a book on horrible bosses, a small chemistry set, a box of cinnamon red hots and a CD of jazz standards, among other things.
It was that last gift that surprised him. Hawkes' gift was the only one he was sure was not meant as a gag gift. He looked at the CD and grinned even more. Ella Fitzgerald was the first artist and he moved to the small CD player in his office, popping the CD in.
Soon the music enveloped him and it took him a moment to notice that Hawkes was standing in the doorway. "I got asked to give the non gag gift, he said, nodding to the presents on Mac's desk. "I asked your wife...I hope that was okay."
"That was fine," he said. "I'm surprised she didn't tell you to get me a lump of coal," he said, thinking about how strained breakfast had been that morning.
"Well, she suggested I tape it onto the wrapping paper, but by the end of the conversation I had convinced her otherwise."
"How?" Mac asked.
"I told her about the case." Mac nodded. "When I talked to her this morning, she seemed to be in a pensive mood."
"We had a fight," Mac said simply.
"Well, I don't think she's angry with you anymore. She was the one who told me that you liked jazz." Mac hadn't told anyone in the labs about playing in the jazz group, and he hoped Claire hadn't said anything. He let out a tiny sigh of relief when Hawkes grinned slightly and said, "Maybe one time you can drop by this jazz club I go to in Queens. I think you'd like it. Claire, too."
"You seem to have made a friend in my wife," Mac said wryly, though he smiled.
"She's a good woman." He nodded towards the phone. "I say call her and patch up the fight. I think you might be surprised."
Mac looked at him. "I take it she thinks I was in a bad mood because of the case."
"I didn't lie to her. I just didn't tell her the whole truth."
"Isn't that unethical?"
"Possibly, but she's not a patient, so I think I can get away with it." Hawkes grin got bigger. "You should probably track down Stella wearing that tie she gave you. She asked Flack where he got his ties. I know he thinks she insulted him but he told her anyway. Maybe she can tell you the whole story. It's kind of funny."
"I think I will. After I make a phone call."
Hawkes nodded. "Glad you liked the gift." He didn't wait for Mac to answer before he walked away, heading towards the elevator that would take him down to the morgue. Mac watched him go before turning to the phone and picking up the receiver. He punched in the familiar number to Claire's office and waited for her to pick up.
Maybe this week wouldn't turn out so bad after all...